Junkyard Find: 1983 Subaru GL 4WD Hatchback
Subaru began selling four-wheel-drive wagons in the United States for the 1976 model year, followed by four-wheel-drive BRAT pickups two years later. Sales of those cars proved strong, so a four-wheel-drive hatchback was added to the mix for 1980. Here's an example of one of the early Leone 4WD hatchbacks, found at a car graveyard in Sparks, Nevada.
We saw a Nevada first-generation Subaru Leone wagon in last week's episode of this series, and it seemed like a good idea to stick with both Subaru and the Silver State.
Subaru went to the second generation of the Leone for the 1979 model year in North America, except for the BRAT (which had to wait until 1981 to be updated).
The Leone name was never used here, but every Subaru model sold in the United States from the 1971 through 1984 model years was a member of the Leone family. If you want to get a refresher on Leone history, read last week's Junkyard Find.
Plenty of people nowadays refer to all 1970s and 1980s non-BRAT Leones as GLs, but that was a trim-level designation and not a model name. The first year for the GL here was 1980, and it was a step up from the base or close-to-base DL. Eventually, there were even more prestigious GL-10s.
As I often do when taking out-of-state junkyard journeys, I shot photos of the Sparks Pick-n-Pull with an old film camera. In this case, that camera was an Argus Model A 35mm, made in Ann Arbor.
This is a "49-state" car, and if sold new in this part of Nevada would have required high-altitude modifications to be legal.
It was built at Subaru's Yajima Plant in Gunma Prefecture.
The sedan, coupe and wagon versions of the second-generation Leone were built through 1984. The U.S.-market BRAT stayed on the second-gen platform through the end in 1987 (1994 elsewhere), while the hatchback got the axe in 1989.
In corrosion-prone parts of the country, these cars dissolved quickly. In dry high-desert regions, plenty are still on the road. I have documented many second-generation Leones in Colorado boneyards over the years.
Since this car is a GL, it has the EA81 1.8-liter pushrod boxer-four, rated at 73 horsepower and 94 pound-feet of torque.
The cheaper U.S.-market base and DL models for 1983 got the 1.6-liter EA71 and its 69 hp/86 lb-ft output. These cars scaled in at just over a ton, so they weren't as slow as those numbers suggest (though they were still pretty pokey).
Subaru didn't install what we'd now call all-wheel-drive in U.S.-market Leones until 1987. After that, Leones were sold with "full time 4WD" as optional equipment, alongside manually-actuated 4WD cars. This car has old-fashioned four-wheel-drive, which required drivers to understand that driving on dry pavement with 4WD engaged was a bad idea.
It was a runner with keys when Pick-n-Pull obtained it, and the yard tried and failed to sell it for $1,899. The four-speed manual transmission and tiny size would have scared off most buyers looking for a cheap four-wheel-drive car, while aficionados of vintage Subarus would have held out for a wagon.
Just 11 miles short of the 150,000-mile mark. Subaru had just gone to six-digit odometers in its North American vehicles around the time this one was built.
Its MSRP was $7,099, which comes to about $24,457 in 2026 dollars. The absolute cheapest base 1983 front-wheel-drive Leone hatchback listed at just $4,929 ($16,981 after inflation).
If you wanted a new hatchback with four-wheel-drive in 1983 America, you had just two choices: the Subaru GL and the AMC Eagle SX/4 (which had an MSRP of $7,697 ($26,518 today).
There's a Society for Temporal Preservation sticker on the back. Burning Man takes place about three hours to the north of the Carson City Pick-n-Pull.
A person affiliated with this car, presumably the same one who went to Burning Man, was connected in some way with the Reno chapter of the Clampers.
Will we get another Subaru Junkyard Find next week? Subarus for a month straight? Or will I choose the 1946 International fire truck? Hell, I don't even know yet.
The '83 Subarus sold well in snowy New England, but the Rust Monster ate nearly all of them.
In Japan, Subaru shoppers of 1983 could get the Rex Turbo and Sambar 4WD kei cars alongside the 4WD Leone.
1983 Subaru Leone GL 4WD hatchback in Nevada junkyard.
1983 Subaru Leone GL 4WD hatchback in Nevada junkyard.
1983 Subaru Leone GL 4WD hatchback in Nevada junkyard.
1983 Subaru Leone GL 4WD hatchback in Nevada junkyard.
1983 Subaru Leone GL 4WD hatchback in Nevada junkyard.
1983 Subaru Leone GL 4WD hatchback in Nevada junkyard.
1983 Subaru Leone GL 4WD hatchback in Nevada junkyard.
1983 Subaru Leone GL 4WD hatchback in Nevada junkyard.
1983 Subaru Leone GL 4WD hatchback in Nevada junkyard.
1983 Subaru Leone GL 4WD hatchback in Nevada junkyard.
1983 Subaru Leone GL 4WD hatchback in Nevada junkyard.
1983 Subaru Leone GL 4WD hatchback in Nevada junkyard.
1983 Subaru Leone GL 4WD hatchback in Nevada junkyard.
1983 Subaru Leone GL 4WD hatchback in Nevada junkyard.
1983 Subaru Leone GL 4WD hatchback in Nevada junkyard.
1983 Subaru Leone GL 4WD hatchback in Nevada junkyard.
Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Hagerty and The Truth About Cars.
More by Murilee Martin
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I've never owned a Subaru yet.
This Subaru has three wing nuts on the air cleaner. My truck only has one wing nut on the air cleaner.
My vote is for the 1946 International fire truck.